A quantitative pipeline to assess secretion of human leptin coding variants reveals mechanisms underlying leptin deficiencies

The hormone leptin, primarily secreted by adipocytes, plays a crucial role in regulating whole-body energy homeostasis. Homozygous loss-of-function mutations in the leptin gene (LEP) cause hyperphagia and severe obesity, primarily through alterations in leptin’s affinity for its receptor or changes in serum leptin concentrations. Although serum concentrations are influenced by various factors (e.g., gene expression, protein synthesis, stability in the serum), proper delivery of leptin from its site of synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum via the secretory pathway to the extracellular serum is a critical step. However, the regulatory mechanisms and specific machinery involved in this trafficking route, particularly in the context of human LEP mutations, remain largely unexplored.

We have employed the Retention Using Selective Hooks (RUSH) system to elucidate the secretory pathway of leptin. We have refined this system into a medium-throughput assay for examining the pathophysiology of a range of obesity-associated LEP variants. Our results reveal that leptin follows the default secretory pathway, with no additional regulatory steps identified prior to secretion.

Through screening of leptin variants, we identified three mutations that lead to proteasomal degradation of leptin and one mutant that significantly decreased leptin secretion, likely through aberrant disulfide bond formation. These observations have identified novel pathogenic effects of leptin variants, which can be informative for therapeutics and diagnostics. Finally, our novel quantitative screening platform can be adapted for other secreted proteins.